Joëlle Boutin, CAQ MNA for Jean-Talon, resigns
CBC
Coalition Avenir Québec MNA Joëlle Boutin is stepping down, leaving the Quebec City riding of Jean-Talon up for grabs.
Boutin made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, saying she made the difficult decision to leave because she found being a politician requires too many sacrifices for her family.
"In recent years, I have chosen to spend too little time with my children in order to serve my fellow citizens," she said, adding, however, that she had no regrets about running for office.
Boutin said she shares custody of her children, seeing them one week out of two, and she was often too busy to spend time with them when they were with her.
She downplayed rumours that she was leaving because she'd been left out of cabinet or because the government had abandoned plans to build the third link — a highway tunnel connecting Quebec City to Lévis.
"I'm not quitting because I'm disappointed in not being a cabinet minister," she said.
Boutin said she has accepted a position in the private sector that will start in August.
She also thanked Premier François Legault, whom she met with yesterday, and praised his leadership, especially during the pandemic.
Although Boutin was not a cabinet minister, she was parliamentary assistant to Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon.
Boutin's departure means the CAQ is down to 89 MNAs, still an overwhelming majority.
But it also means that Jean-Talon riding, a traditionally Liberal stronghold, is no longer secure.
Boutin won a 2019 byelection there with 43 per cent of the votes after former Liberal minister Sébastien Proulx resigned.
She was re-elected in 2022 with Québec Solidaire's Olivier Bolduc coming in second.
Legault must call a byelection within six months.
A Brampton lawyer allegedly connected to fugitive Ryan Wedding was granted bail Tuesday morning by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Rankin Inlet hamlet councillors recently passed a motion that has had them avoid drinking alcohol for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, with the goal of setting a positive example for the community.
Jason Jacques says he learned a lot about the importance of choosing his words carefully in his first few months as the interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO).
Durham police say a man is dead after suffering multiple stab wounds in Oshawa Tuesday morning.
An internal review of technical outages that caused significant delays at airports and international land borders this fall has exposed critical flaws with the Canada Border Services Agency's IT services.
Two people are in life-threatening condition after being pulled from a house fire in Scarborough Tuesday morning, according to Toronto Fire Services.
Whenever the door opens at the British Grenadier Bookshop, proprietor Steve Douglas doesn’t know who is going to walk through.
A northeastern Ontario potato farmer says he’s shipping more bags of potatoes to southern Ontario to make up for waning demand.
Halifax’s registry of rental properties is now available to the public online, showing what HRM staff believe are the “bulk” of rentals in the city.
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.